Security at the T's money room was handled by Transit Police in the past, but was privatized in June.

On Wednesday, 5 Investigates obtained a photograph that showed one of the new security guards sound asleep when he was supposed to be guarding the money room's front door in Charlestown.

In the photo, obtained exclusively by 5 Investigates, the guard can be seen leaning back and taking a snooze while on the job.

The photo was taken in the middle of the workday and showed the guard sound asleep with his hands tucked in his bulletproof vest. He's part of the MBTA's new plan to keep safe the building where they collect and count about $200 million a year.

The man in the photo is an employee of G4S Security, which was contracted by the MBTA to take over securing the money room, a role that was previously performed by Transit Police.

The move comes after an independent review exposed lapses in security that included doors and gates that were left open, employee IDs not being checked and missing security cameras.

In a statement, G4S told 5 Investigates "Inattentiveness to duty is not tolerated." The company said it will "work to ensure that any necessary changes are fully implemented to help prevent a reoccurrence."

The MBTA said it moved swiftly to secure the facility and stands by its decision to outsource the money room.

"The MBTA holds all of our vendors and employees to the highest standard, and this contract allows us to address the incident in a way an employee governed by collective bargaining does not," a statement from the MBTA said. "This incident reinforces the importance of the T partnering with a professional money room operator..."

After 5 Investigates sent the MBTA the photo, the sleeping guard was immediately removed from his post and suspended by G4S.

The MBTA still has one Transit officer in the money room per shift. The transit officer on duty Wednesday has also been removed, because he left his post during the shift and failed to report the sleeping guard.